


Reality Ensues

by hattafan2593



Series: Reality Falls [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Reality, Canon Divergence - Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-04 12:38:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10991103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hattafan2593/pseuds/hattafan2593
Summary: Something always bugged me about Ford's proposal to Dipper in "Dipper and Mabel vs The Future" Specifically, how nobody mentioned the twins' parents, or how they'd feel about the whole thing.This is an alternate ending where Dipper did in fact stay behind in Gravity Falls.....and didn't tell his parents.





	1. Chapter 1

Dipper ascended to the upper levels of the Sha – of Great Uncle Ford’s house to get something to eat. He kept forgetting that it wasn’t the Mystery Shack anymore. Ford had made it clear that he wanted his house back at the end of the summer, and sure enough, Grunkle Stan had kept his word and had announced yesterday that the Mystery Shack was closing for good.

Yesterday had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He and Mabel had parted on….less than pleasant terms. She wouldn’t even tell him goodbye as she got on the bus. Soos had run home in tears, and Wendy sulked off after glaring at Ford. He hadn’t seen either since.

Still he wasn’t about to let all that dampen his spirits. Today was his first official day as Ford’s apprentice. They had already had a productive morning down in the basement, and it was only on Ford’s insistence that Dipper left to get some lunch.

As he opened the fridge, he noticed Waddles sitting forlornly in the doorway. He ignored the pit in his stomach as he pulled out a Pitt Cola.

 _Mabel will be fine_ , he told himself. _It’s not like she’ll be alone. She has lots of friends back home. And we’ll keep in touch. Everything’s fine._

Dipper was startled out of his thoughts as he heard a knock at the door. As he opened the door to answer he said, “Sorry, but the Mystery Shack is clo-”

His heart nearly stopped from shock. Standing on the porch, arms crossed, were Dipper’s mother and father. They did _not_ look happy.

“Mom….? Dad?”

“Hello, Dipper.” Mrs. Pines said in a false cheerful voice. “Would you care to explain why you weren’t on the bus yesterday? And why your sister was in tears when we came to pick her up?”

Dipper felt his stomach drop. In his excitement to stay with Ford, he had completely forgotten to tell his parents! How could he have been so _stupid_?

“I….uh…”

“Dipper, is everything right?” Ford came to the door, concerned when Dipper didn’t come back right away. He froze when he saw Dipper’s parents.

“Ford…..my parents are here.” Dipper said weakly.

“Who the heck are you?” Mr. Pines demanded.

Ford blinked a couple of times before answering, “S-Standford Pines. I…I’m Dipper’s great uncle.”

“Yeah right.” Mr. Pines retorted rolling his eyes. “I’ve known Uncle Stan for years, and I know for a fact that he would never dress like _you_.” He gestured to Ford’s attire. “Now tell me where he is so I can give him a piece of my mind.”

“And don’t think you’re off the hook, either.” Mrs. Pines said to Dipper. “You are in _big_ trouble, young man.”

“Huh. Thought you guys would get here earlier.”

Everyone turned to see Stan leaning against his car, arms crossed. He smirked sympathetically as the parents looked between him and Ford, obviously noticing the similarity. “This is probably gonna take some explainin’.”

“And then some.” Mrs Pines said as she turned to glare at Stan.

 

 

About an hour later, they were all sitting at the kitchen table, and Stan and Ford finished explaining things to the parents….with a few embellishments, of course.

“Ok, just to recap.” Mr. Pines said. “ _This_ guy,” he pointed to Ford. “Is actually Stanford Pines. And _our_ Stan,” he pointed to Stan. “Is actually Stan _ley_ Pines, the twin who supposedly died in a car crash years ago.”

“And Stanley apparently faked his death,” Mrs Pines continued. “and was masquerading as ‘Stanford’ because the real Stanford was away on…ahem….’government business’?”

“Yeah that’s pretty much it.” Stan said casually. Even now Dipper and Ford were amazed at how smoothly Stan was able to lie.

“And now after all these years, Ford has come back and he wants our son to be his apprentice.” Mr. Pines concluded.

“Yes. I believe it’s a great opportunity for him.” Ford said, smiling.

Mrs. Pines blinked a couple times, then turned to Dipper. “Dipper, go pack your things. We’re leaving.”

Even though Dipper had known what their answer would be, it didn’t stop his shoulders from slumping.

Ford tried to intervene. “Ma’am, I know it may seem unorthodox, but-“

“Perhaps you misunderstood me, _Stanford_.” Mrs. Pines said sternly, turning to gaze coolly at him. “We are not here for a discussion. We are not here to negotiate. We are here to take our son home. And we intend to leave today.”

“Mom, _please_. Ford’s really smart. He can teach me things I can’t learn anywhere else-“

“I’m sorry, Dipper, have you suddenly developed a hearing problem?” Mrs. Pines said curtly. “Because I believe I asked you to go pack.”

Dipper suddenly felt very angry. “This isn’t fair! I finally have the opportunity to do something I like, and you won’t let me! I bet if I was Mabel, you’d let me stay!”

He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Grunkle Stan face-palming and shaking his head.

His mother barely reacted, merely raising an eyebrow. “You finished?”

Dipper slumped in his chair, bracing himself.

Mrs. Pines leaned in close, speaking in a low, stern voice. “Let’s get something straight, Mason Pines.” Dipper gulped. His parents only used his birth name when he _really_ messed up. “You may _think_ you’re an adult, and that you know everything about how the world works, but you don’t. You are only thirteen. When you’ve graduated high school, and you’re living on your own and paying your own bills, you may do whatever you please. You can marry a monkey for all I care. I won’t stand in your way. But until then, you live in _my_ house, under _my_ rules.”

She leaned back and pointed towards the doorway. “Now I suggest if you know what’s good for you, you will go pack your things and meet us out on the front porch in precisely twenty minutes. Every minute you dawdle, I will add one week to the month’s grounding you’ve already earned by pulling this stupid stunt in the first place. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Dipper hung his head in defeat, and sadly made his trek to his room upstairs.

Ford reached out his hand imploringly, “Please, if I could just-”

Mr. Pines was not having it. “Stop. Just, stop right there.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and gave a harsh laugh. “You know, for someone who’s supposed to be this genius, you really are an idiot.”

Ford reared back as if slapped. A ghost of a smirk appeared on Stan’s face, unnoticed by anyone as Mr. Pines continued, “Did you _really_ think we’d be okay with this? Let’s just say we believe your story about you being a government agent. We don’t _know_ you! Up until an hour ago, we didn’t even know you existed! I’m not leaving my child with some stranger, no matter _how_ closely related he is, _or_ how many PhDs he supposedly has!”

“Please understand, Dipper is not like other children! He is special!” Ford implored. “I mean, how many children can say they’ve been aboard an abandoned spacecraft-”

“ _What_?!” Stan suddenly yelled. He had _not_ known about this. “You actually took him on that thing?!”

“Yes, I did.” Ford confirmed. “It was a field test. He passed with flying colors!”

“Ok let me get this straight.” Mr. Pines interjected. “You, a supposedly responsible and intellectual adult, took a young, just turned teenaged boy on an old abandoned ship, which, judging by Stan’s reaction is potentially dangerous, and because he managed to not get hurt, or heaven forbid die, _one time_ , you decided he was ready to take on an apprenticeship in…..whatever it is you do, which I assume is _also_ very dangerous, considering you disappeared for 30+ years as a result of said career.”

Ford blanched. When he put it _that_ way…

“And you!” Mrs. Pines turned on Stan. “Where were _you_ during all this? You just stood by and let this happen?!”

“ _I_ didn’t find out about all this until literally the last day!” Stan objected. “Besides, I had my own problems to deal with.” He glared resentfully at Ford, who glared back. “On toppa that, I knew you’d never agree ta this. It was just a matter of waitin’ for you ta show up.”

“Wait…you knew this would happen?” Ford asked incredulously. “And you didn’t say anything?”

“Would you have listened if I did?” Stan asked bitterly. “Don’t give me that look, Sixer. You brought this on yourself when you decided _you_ knew what was best for _their_ kid without consultin’ em, or taking anyone else’s feelings inta consideration.” He huffed as he added, “Though I can’t say I’m surprised. Not the first time you’ve done this.”

“Oh here we go!” Ford exclaimed, rolling his eyes. “This is _just_ like you, Stanley! Refusing to see the bigger picture! I’m offering Dipper a chance to do something worthwhile with his life, without anything holding him back!”

“’The bigger picture’?” Mrs. Pines interrupted, standing up and getting into Ford’s face, and as Ford looked at the expression on her face, he suddenly wished he was back in the Nightmare Realm. “ _The bigger picture_ is that Dipper is _my_ child. _I_ decide what’s best for him. And I have decided that I do _not_ want him living under the same roof as a man who, from what I’ve seen and heard today, barely knows how to function as a human being, let alone a guardian, living a lifestyle that could potentially endanger his life."

Okay, _that_ stung.

“And one more thing,” Ford flinched as she poked him hard in the chest. “I get you and Stan have issues, but I would really appreciate it if you'd not project them onto our children.”

Ford flushed, indignant. “I have never-”

“That’s not what Mabel said.” Mr. Pines said coldly. “She said you told Dipper that she was holding him back, that she was _suffocating_ him! How could you say something so cruel?”

"What are you...?"

 

" _And isn't it suffocating?_ "

 

Ford felt himself pale. Dipper had told him that Mabel had overheard their conversation, but he hadn’t realized…..Oh sweet Moses.

“I…I didn’t think…..”

“No, you didn’t.” Mrs. Pines said coolly.

Ford buried his face in his hands. When he had told Dipper that, he had never intended for Mabel to hear it. He hadn’t even been thinking about her when he said that. He had been thinking about…..his own experience……

_Good Lord, she probably thinks I hate her now….._

They heard creaking and thumping on the stairs, and Dipper came into view with all his belongings.

“Say goodbye to your grunkles, Dipper.” Mrs. Pines said, not taking her eyes off Ford.

Dipper came up and hugged Stan tightly. “Good-bye, Grunkle Stan.”

“Take care, kiddo.” Stan said, patting Dipper’s back.

Dipper turned as Ford knelt down to hug him. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, my boy.” Ford said, hugging him tightly. “These things happen sometimes.”

“Dipper, get in the car.” Mrs. Pines ordered. “Stan, walk my husband out.”

As Dipper, Mr. Pines, and Stan left the kitchen, she turned to Ford, hands on her hips. “Just so you know, you did _not_ make a good first impression. And if I hadn’t heard such good things about their stay here from Dipper and Mabel, I’d consider never letting either you or Stan near them again.”

Ford tried not to flinch.

“So here’s the deal. I suggest if you want to see them again next summer, or anytime in the future, you get your act together. Do I make myself clear?”

Ford could only nod numbly.


	2. Chapter 2

As Dipper climbed into the back seat, Stan helped his nephew put Dipper's belongings in the trunk.

"Stan," Mr. Pines asked. "When you said you had problems of your own....what did you mean by that?"

Stan smiled bitterly. "Poindexter has decided he wants his house back....and that he don't want me in it."

Mr. Pines looked shocked. "Just like that?"

Stan shrugged. "Can't say I'm surprised. Not the first time he's kicked me to the curb."

Mr. Pines chose not to comment. He _was_ missing a lot of context, and he was certain the story Stan and Ford had told him and his wife was only half-true. Still he had to admit, this tidbit of information was not helping his already low opinion of the scientist.

They heard a squealing sound, and looked to see Waddles scratching at the car door.

"Mabel's pig." Stan explained. "Bus driver wouldn't let it on the bus. Probably take it with me. If it stays here with Ford, it'll starve to death. Nerd can't even take care of himself."

Just then Mrs Pines came out of the house and walked towards the car.

"I'm still angry at you." she said to Stan. "You lied to us. But....the kids do seem to adore you, and aside from this.... _incident_ , you've taken care of them pretty well, so....thank you."

Stan merely nodded. There was _no way_ he was going to mention all the other weird stuff that had happened this summer.

Mrs. Pines' gaze moved to where Stan's car was parked. She noticed that it was packed to the brim with what she assumed was his belongings. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together.

"Take care of yourself." she said, and then thumped Stan hard in the chest. "And you _better_ call or write. You hear me?"

Stan grinned, chuckling. "Yes, ma'am."

Nodding, she turned to get in the car, only to be stopped by Waddles, who was gazing pitifully up at her.

"Shoo!" Mrs. Pines said, nudging Waddles with her foot. "Go on now! Get!"

Reluctantly, the pig yielded and Mrs Pines got in the car.

Stan stood there watching them drive off, and only when they completely disappeared from his sight did he turn away. He bent down and scooped up Waddles, ignoring the pain in his back, and carried him to his car. The pig oinked miserably as Stan placed him in the front seat.

"I know, buddy." he said softly, patting the pig sympathetically. "I know."

He turned to look at the house, the house he had spent 30 years in, one last time. Then, without looking back, he got in the driver's seat, turned the ignition, and drove away, once again, from the place he had called home, never to return.

 

 

 

Ford was alone.

He was down in the basement, staring at the Rift. Since administering the alien adhesive, it was no longer a ticking time-bomb.....well, it was _less_ of a ticking time-bomb. He still needed to apply adhesive every month or so, and the threat of Bill Cipher was still looming over his head....

And now he would have to deal with it alone. His apprentice was gone, and the house was empty. At least Stanley had kept his word....for once.

_Seriously? The fate of the world is at stake and you_ still _can't let go of some petty grudge?  Something didn't go your way and once again you're pointing fingers and sulking like a child! I'm amazed you hadn't found a way to blame Stan for the Holocaust yet!_

He flinched at the voice in his head, then sighed, because he knew it was right. It wasn't fair to blame Stanley for his own ignorance, no matter how angry he was. Yes, Stanley had ignored his warnings, but he was the one who had built the portal in the first place. And, in hindsight, maybe writing the warnings in invisible ink wasn't the best idea....

And then there was Dipper. There was no way that was going to work out. His line of work was dangerous, and no matter how brilliant he was, Dipper was still a child. A child whose parents were angry with worry, and rightly so, that he had deliberately put their son in danger. And then there was Mabel.....

_You care more about your dumb mysteries than your own family!_

_Get your act together!_

_As far as I'm concerned, they're the only family I've got left._

Ford buried his face in his hands. He was completely alone. Soft mocking laughter could be heard in the back of his mind.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The ride home was tense and silent.

It was nearly 11 when they got home.

"We'll unload your things in the morning." Mr. Pines said stiffly.

As they walked inside, the babysitter greeted them at the door. While the adults talked, Dipper's eyes were drawn to the dining room table. There was a bright colorful banner that said "Happy 13th Birthday!" hovering above, and two identical but differently colored presents on the table, both unwrapped.

Dipper felt a lump in his throat. Mabel had been so distraught about his choice to stay, on top of the fact that Candy and Grenda wouldn't be coming, that she had cancelled the party altogether. She wouldn't even touch the presents that Wendy, Soos, and Grunkle Stan had given her.

As the babysitter walked out, Dipper's parents turned to glare at him.

"We'll discuss this more in the morning." Mrs. Pines said quietly, pointing to the stairs. "Go to bed. And keep quiet. Your sister's probably asleep."

Bowing his head, Dipper sadly and silently trudged up the stairs.

 

 

As he creaked open the door to the bedroom, he saw Mabel's form huddled under the covers of her bed, facing the wall.

Sighing, he decided to forego changing into his pajamas, lest he wake her up, and simply climbed into his bed and threw on the covers. He turned to face the wall, back to his sister, not closing his eyes.

"Dip-dop?"

Dipper flinched, realizing Mabel had been awake the whole time, but didn't turn around. "Yeah?"

"You're home."

"....Yeah."

Silence

 

".....Are they really mad?"

"Heh. That's putting it lightly."

"That bad?"

"Mom called me 'Mason.'"

He could hear Mabel wince.

 

More silence.

 

"I'm sorry."

Dipper's eyebrows raised. "What?"

"I didn't mean to get you in trouble. I _swear_ , Dipper. They started asking questions and I tried to answer, but then they asked more questions on top of the questions and it was hard to think and I was feeling all stupid and bad and gross and..."

Mabel was weeping. His sister was crying because of him. Like he didn't feel like a big enough jerk as it was.  
  
"Mabel, it's not..." Dipper sat up and turned to face his twin, who still had her back to him. "You didn't get me in trouble, okay? I was the one who acted without thinking. There was no way Mom and Dad were ever gonna let me be Ford's apprentice. And I was stupid for thinking they would."

He smirked. "Look on the bright side. At least we get to go to high school together after all."

Mabel started sobbing into her pillow, alarming Dipper greatly. He was by her side immediately. "Hey, come on, what's wrong?"

" _I'm_ wrong!" Mabel screamed into her pillow so her parents wouldn't hear, but Dipper heard her fine. "I finally get the chance to not be selfish, and I ruined it!"

"Whoa hang on! Who said you were selfish?" Dipper suddenly felt angry. Whoever had said that was either really stupid...or asking for a punch in the face.

"It doesn't matter who said it. It's true!" Mabel sat up and wiped her face, but wouldn't look at him. "All summer long I've only thought about myself. Your date with Wendy, your summer job....you're always sacrificing things for me and I always took it for granted. You almost lost your _body_ because of me."

"Mabel, that was _Bill_ , not you." Dipper countered. "And don't forget _I'm_ the one who made the deal in the first place. I should've known better."

"But you wouldn't have made that deal if I had been there for you." Mabel said miserably. "And then you finally got the chance to hang out with the Author and do cool mystery stuff _every day_ , and instead of being happy for you I threw a mad fit cuz I wanted you all to myself."

She buried her face in her arms. "Grunkle Ford was right. I am just holding you back."

Dipper's heart clenched in his chest. Apparently she had heard more of their conversation then his acceptance.

"Mabel...I'm sorry." Dipper said quietly. "Great Uncle Ford shouldn't have said that. And I shouldn't have let him say it. Because he's wrong. You do not hold me back. If anything, you push me forward. All the cool stuff we did this summer, we only were able to do it because we did it together.

"And yeah...sometimes you do stuff without thinking....but when it counts you're always there backing me up. You're my best friend, Mabel...and I'm sorry I made you feel any different."

Mabel still wouldn't look at him. He put a hand on her shoulder. "You know I wouldn't have forgotten you, right? I would have called, come visit. I wouldn't have left you in the dust."

Mabel was silent for a moment, then she lowered her head. "Yeah. I know." she conceded.

She finally turned to face him. "It's just..all this is happening so fast, you know? I...I'm just not ready to grow up yet."

Dipper sighed. "Look, Mabel, were gonna grow up. That's just life. Your gonna have your own friends and interests and your own life, and I'll have mine. But... that doesn't we won't be part of each other's lives." He paused. "We're not our grunkles."

At the mention of their grunkles, the twins grew silent.

"I hope they're okay." Mabel said.

"Me too." Dipper said.

Silence.

"So...you're not gonna leave me behind." Mabel said.

"You're not selfish. Or suffocating." Dipper said.

Mabel nervously held out her arms. "Awkward sibling hug?"

Dipper smiled, and said. " _Sincere_ sibling hug."

The twins embraced tightly. Then after a few seconds...

"Pat, pat."


	4. Chapter 4

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, the parents, unable to sleep, were having their own discussion of the past two days' events.

More specifically, Mr. Pines was trying to see the situation from a logical standpoint, while his wife fumed.

"The _nerve_ of that man!" she said in disgust. "Thinking he can decide _our_ kid's future. And then kicking his own brother out on the streets! Like some mangy dog!"

"Honey, we don't know the whole story." Mr. Pines pointed out. "Dad told me that Stanford and Stanley were having problems since they were teens. And you know as well as I do that Stan has done a lot of sketchy stuff."

"And that makes it okay?" Mrs. Pines retorted. "Stan is an _old man_! With a hearing aid, and dentures, and a bad back, and bad eyesight! And now he's living in his car like some hobo, after getting kicked out of the house he's lived in for over 30 years."

"All I'm saying is that we're missing context." Mr. Pines said. "You have to admit, that whole 'government agent' story was pretty contrived." He folded his arms. "Besides, I wouldn't worry _too_ much about Uncle Stan. He's a lot tougher than he looks. Heck, I think if you dropped a nuke on him, he'd live through it just to prove that he can."

Mrs. Pines huffed. She hated when her husband was right.

"Wait a second, weren't you mad at Stan for lying to us?"

"I _am_! I just...." She flumped back onto her pillow. "He's family, ya know? Just cuz you're mad, doesn't mean you stop caring."

Mr. Pines put a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder. "Dipper's home, and both kids are safe. Isn't that what matters."

Mrs. Pines sighed, then snuggled close to her husband's chest. "Our family's a hot mess."

Mr. Pines chuckled. "Honey, you knew that when you married me."

 

 

 

The next morning, both parents were in the kitchen. Mrs. Pines was cooking breakfast, and Mr. Pines was sitting at the table drinking coffee.

The twins came in shortly afterward, both still very sleepy.

Mabel joined their father at the table, while Dipper simply hovered nearby, looking down at his feet.

"Mom, Dad.....I'm sorry. For yesterday. It was really dumb, and......I shouldn't have done it without at least consulting you first."

Mrs. Pines sighed, then came around the table to embrace her son.

"Dipper, you know why we're upset, right?" she said softly. "When we came to pick you up, and you weren't there and Mabel was crying, we were so scared. We'd thought something _terrible_ had happened to you."

"I know." Dipper said forlornly, burying his face in his mother's shoulder.

Mr. Pines got up from the table and knelt by Dipper's side. "Look son....just because that whole...'apprentice' thing didn't work out now, doesn't mean it's off the table. Just give it a couple of years, after you've finished your education. Who knows? Maybe you'll find you wanna do something completely different with your life."

Dipper smirked slightly. "Can I still marry a monkey?"

Mrs. Pines. tilted her head in mock consideration. "Mmmmm....depends on what _kind_ of monkey...and if she can play the piano."

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about." Mabel said, wrapping her arms around her mother and Dipper. "And I am okay with that."

Mr. Pines chuckled and joined the family hug.

"You guys are the best." Dipper said, smiling.

"I know." Mrs. Pines said with a smile. "You're still grounded, by the way."

_Rats._


	5. Chapter 5

A week had passed, and the twins returned to school.

It honestly wasn't as bad as Mabel thought. Her teachers were nice - well, except for Mr. Belson, her history teacher, but she just attributed that to him being a cranky old man - and she'd already made a few friends. She'd even joined the drama club.

Dipper was doing okay, too. He'd met a couple of guys who liked to play Dungeons, Dungeons, And More Dungeons. And as usual, he was excelling in his classes.

They had separate classes, but they were able to meet at lunch. Their food would barely be touched, they were too busy comparing notes.

All in all, things were going okay.

Mabel had just finished her homework and was knitting a new sweater for drama club - it was midnight blue and would have the smiley mask and frowney mask on it - when her mother called,

"Mabel! Your grunkle's on the phone!"

She was on her feet and had grabbed the phone from her mother's hand before anyone could blink.

"OH MY GOSH! Grunkle Stan, I had the best week EVER! We're doing _Mary Poppins_ in drama club, and-"

 

"Uh....Mabel?"

 

Mabel's smile dropped several centimeters upon hearing the familiar voice. "Oh...Grunkle Ford. Hi."

She searched the hallway, but her mother was nowhere to be found.

"Umm, Dipper's still kinda grounded, so he can't really come to the phone." she said nervously. "But I can totally pass on any message you have! I have a pen and paper right here!" She held up the notepad by the phone to the receiver, as if her grunkle would physically be able to see it.

"Thank you dear....but truthfully, I wanted to speak to _you_."

This genuinely shocked Mabel. "Oh! Okay. What about?"

"I...Mabel, I wish to apologize."

"....."

"I, recently learned that..you had overheard...certain things that were said between your brother and myself."

"You mean where you said having a twin was suffocating and that I was holding him back?" She didn't even bother to hide the hurt in her voice.

" _No_! I...I didn't mean it like that. I just...I thought I was helping! When I said that, I merely meant that you two being together was probably not.....I wasn't even talking about _you_ , really, I was talking about.....I'm not helping my case, am I?"

"Not really."

"The point is, I shouldn't have said those things, and I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"It's..." Mabel paused. Ford sounded sincere enough. But she couldn't say it was okay. It wasn't going to do either of them any good by lying. "It's _not_ okay, Grunkle Ford."

"Mabel..."

"Cuz here's the thing. You didn't just hurt me. And yeah, I get it, I'd be pretty mad if Dipper broke something I worked my butt off on, but _ten years_? _Seriously_? Dipper and I can't stay mad at each other for more than a week!"

She heard Ford sigh. "Mabel-"

"And yeah, I get that you'd want your house and your name back, I mean it's not really fair to keep asking you to keep sleeping on the couch in your own house and hide in the basement every single time someone comes over, but you know, he worked _really_ hard to get you back. And I know he's old and cranky and he smells weird and he cheats at cards and lies about a lot of stuff but he's your _brother_ , darnit!"

"Mabel, that's....you wouldn't understand-"

"So _explain it_ to me!" Mabel shouted, slamming her fist down on the table. "And don't use that old 'I'm too young' excuse, okay? I fought gnomes and unicorns and spider-ladies and zombies and Gideon and freaking _Bill_ this summer! I think we are _waaay_ past that threshold!"

"I-"

"You keep saying 'Trust no one,' but that hasn't done any one of us any good! You didn't trust us, Stan didn't trust us, we didn't trust Stan, and thanks to you, Dipper didn't trust me! We all wasted time hiding things from each other when we could all have been working together to fix the problem!"

"....He told you, didn't he?"

Mabel sighed. "Yes, Dipper told me about the Rift. And I told Grunkle Stan. We both know now."

"...I was trying to protect you."

"But Dipper is exempt from that protection, is that it?" Mabel asked bitterly. "Don't lie, Grunkle Ford. You didn't tell us because you thought we were too _stupid_ to be any help."

" _No_! That's not-"

"You know, I tried, okay? I tried to be patient with you. When you first came through the portal, I thought, 'Oh cool! I have another grunkle! This is gonna be awesome!' But it's not awesome! Ever since that night everyone's been walking on eggshells waiting for you or Grunkle Stan to explode. And you kept avoiding us like the plague and it _hurt_!"

"Stanley asked me-"

"But then you started hanging out with Dipper, and I was fine at first, but then it was like a double-whammy. Not only did you not want anything to do with me, but Dipper didn't either! _I'm_ your family, too, you know!"

"Mabel....I didn't-"

"But then, oh _then_ , you asked Dipper to stay with you. Except you didn't just ask him! You went behind my back and tried to decide both our futures! Cuz this doesn't just effect you and Dipper! _I'm_ the one who had to go back to California _alone_!"

"Mabel...."

"Was ruining your relationship with your own twin not enough? You had to take _mine_ away, too?!" She was crying now. She was sure her parents or Dipper could hear her. She didn't care.

"...I.."

"This was supposed to be the best summer ever! Even with all the weird stuff, we still had fun. But then things got stupid, and it all started when _you_ came along and-and- _I should've pushed that button_!"

She heard Ford take a sharp intake of breath. She clasped a hand to her mouth as she realized what she just said.

"No, I...I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."

"....No. You're right, Mabel. I never should've come back..."

" _No_! I...look, I know you meant well. I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone. But the fact is, you still hurt us, Grunkle Ford."

"...I know."

"Listen, I'm going to give you Stan's number, okay. I want you to call him."

"Mabel..."

"You want to prove you're sorry? Start by making things right with your brother. At least _try_ , okay?"

"...Alright, sweetheart."

She recited the numbers slowly and clearly. She heard scribbling in the background.

"One more thing. Take care of yourself, Grunkle Ford. I love you."

"...I love you too, Mabel."

She hung up. Wiping her eyes, she turned to Dipper, who had come downstairs in concern after hearing her shouting, and embraced him tightly.

He didn't ask questions. He simply returned the hug.


End file.
